What books have you read during your hike?

[Wendigo]

I'm working on a blog post article and would be interested in knowing about the books you have read during your A.T. hike. What book most affected you and why? Why did you choose it? Thanks for your input in advance!

[Spirit Walker]

On my first long hike I tried to read classics, thinking that with no other options, I'd finally get a chance to read some books that I'd missed along the way. With the exception of Guthrie's "The Way West", they all ended up in the hiker box. What I found I really wanted was complete escapism. My favorite was reading the Hobbit out loud at night to my husband. I also read and enjoyed the rest of the Lord of the Rings on one of my hikes. Dune was a good one too, when hiking out west. Mostly I'd read whatever bestseller trash was available at the grocery or in the hiker boxes.

[Lone Wolf]

Monkeywrench Gang. i so wanted to blow up Fontana dam

[The Solemates]

read the bible through chronologically. changed me forever.

[Sugarfoot]

Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, first edition. It got thicker with each edition. It carried me through years of section hikes and took lots of slow pondering to finally start to understand it.

[garlic08]

I'm an avid reader off-trail, fiction and non-fiction, but on trail if I'm not walking or eating, I'm sleeping. I like my light pack so I do not carry a book. I carry a few sheets of paper with challenging crosswords and sudoku, in case of forced downtime.

[fredmugs]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Southern_Highlanders

This book is amazing. Read about what life was like along the NC/TN border in the Smokies before the AT existed.

[Bearleg]

i do not take books due to weight, but if i did, i would take a cook book because when i am out on long hikes all i think about is food.........

i do down load audio books on my ipod.

[SCRUB HIKER]

If I bring a book when I'm hiking, I like it to be exploration literature. For instance, when I read about Fridtjof Nansen trying to butcher a walrus as he overwinters on Franz Josef Land in his failed attempt to reach the North Pole in 1894 in Farthest North, it makes the prospect of getting up the next morning to mosey 20 miles on the temperate AT seem a lot easier. Others that I've read on trail are River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey and Undaunted Courage by Steven Ambrose.

[Don H]

The only book I read was the phone book when I was looking for the closest AYCE place

[Ender]

I read a lot while hiking. Pretty much always have a book on me. For my AT thru, a couple of my favorite books during that trip were Shogun, and Dune. Both were long so they lasted many nights of reading, and were engaging so I often stayed up late reading them. But really, I read a crap ton during that trip... I can't remember even a fraction of the books I read during those six months.

[max patch]

I always had a couple paperbacks with me.

I read the same things on the trail that I do at home. Including, if I left town on a Sunday, the local towns Sunday newspaper. Once I was lucky enough to get hold of a Sunday NY Times.

I think a thru is an ideal time to read the Bible. I didn't take advantage of that opportunity the first time; hopefully I'll do better the next.

[Traveling teacher]

One of the best books you can read regarding the trail, several people have said better than Bryson, is "sometimes the Appalachain trail is..." I know because I wrote it! So far the reviews have been outstanding and I am grateful. Five stars from all thus far. But keep an open mind, while a true story, the book contains strong language and bad acts. If these offend then don't bother. By J. Michael Osmond. Available on kindle and amazon.

[wren again]

My son and I brought no books except for trail guides. (We were neophytes and trying to keep pack weight down.) We missed having something to read in the evenings. In Tennessee we were given a paperback copy of "The Case For A Creator", which we cut in half. He carried and read the beginning while I carried and read the end, then we switched. Since it wasn't a story, but more informational, the order didn't matter as much. We really enjoyed reading about the amazing qualities and features of the natural world we were experiencing.

[Old Boots]

You can load a MP3 player with numerous audible books, listen when it is dark, and it weighs much less.

[Giantsbane]

Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, first edition. It got thicker with each edition. It carried me through years of section hikes and took lots of slow pondering to finally start to understand it.

Whitman's poetry is so transcendant. I fully plan on having it on my hike. What's amazing is that each time you read it you get something different from the poems and as you get older the meaning changes for you as well. I consider Leaves of Grass my bible.

[hikerboy57]

You can load a MP3 player with numerous audible books, listen when it is dark, and it weighs much less.

I don't enjoy reading with my ears
Dharma Bums by Jack kerouac. backpacking meets buddha

[Hikes in Rain]

Monkeywrench Gang. i so wanted to blow up Fontana dam

I loved that book. If you ever do blow the dam, let me know ahead of time, please!

I'm at an odd point in my life. I have a case of unread books waiting for me to read, so on the odd times I get to hike, it's whatever catches my eye. I've ranged from Hemingway to Heinlein and most anything in between. Often tuck in an old woodcraft "how to" book, and try out some new skills, when it's feasible.

[fredmugs]

One of the best books you can read regarding the trail, several people have said better than Bryson, is "sometimes the Appalachain trail is..." I know because I wrote it! So far the reviews have been outstanding and I am grateful. Five stars from all thus far. But keep an open mind, while a true story, the book contains strong language and bad acts. If these offend then don't bother. By J. Michael Osmond. Available on kindle and amazon.

Every book, with the possible exception of Moby Dick, is better than Bryon's.

[colorado_rob]

Junk spy novels, like the Vince Flynn "Mitch Rapp" series. Great stuff. I'm just now getting in to the Game of Thrones series (HBO DVD's), but I think I might save the long read for next year's AT attempt. 5 total books. BTW: I'm talking here about Kindle books. Readable on my Droid. Camera/phone/book reader/toy. Take one extra battery, recharge both weekly.